I say "FOY-er," and it is a word I use on occasion. I can't recall if I've used it to refer to a house -- the last time I lived in one with any sort of space that could possibly be called a foyer was about 10 years ago.
For a few decades after WWII, it seemed to be pretty common to build houses such that the front door opened onto the living room (or at least it seems that way based on houses of that era that are still around). More recently, I've seen more newer homes that actually do have an entrance room or area of some sort, but there are probably just as many that are so open-planned that it's not really a discrete space.
And actually, now that I think about it, I'm inclined to use the term "front hall" for a house that has some sort of discrete entryway space. That could be because that space in the house I grew up in really was more of a hallway than an entrance way. We rarely used the front door, and instead used the side door that opened into the living room. Thus, the room that the front door opened onto functioned primarily as a pathway between the living room and the den.
Now, of course, my "front hall" is a 2 foot by 2 foot patch of linoleum in my living room, with nothing else to distinguish it from the rest of the room.

I rather miss having a separate entryway, but them's the breaks when you live in an apartment (or so it seems).